Playing Catch

I've wondered about this as well. We get plenty of info/stories about the pitching lab and the genius that is Charlie Greene, but on the hitting side, I've only seen things about taking hit-first profiles and adding power. Adames' first season (including minors) with an ISO above .200 was in 2020 with the Rays, where he struck out 36% of the time. I feel like the club may have messed up Hiura indefinitely, taking a hit-first player and trying to add loft and power to a swing (but I don't have any evidence this happened, maybe he had the same swing in college). I tend to prefer higher-average, lower power production simply due to the propensity for MLB pitchers to pitch differently with RISP, so the swing-and-miss that we've seen over the last decade hasn't been my preference, even if it seems to help produce winning teams. I also think the league, as a whole, has adjusted to 3TO on the pitching front, which is why no one can seem to produce great DH/1Bmen without significant platoon-splits. I mean, even uber-hitting prospects like Vlad and Spencer Torkelson have okay-to-bad production rather than the Miggy/Goldy-level production both guys were promised to provide. (edit: probably way too early to write off Vlad as an underperforming player)

If the only beef that posters have around here is not bringing up Hiura, then the organization is in a good spot. Let's all go back in time and pretend the Brewers had given Hiura 600 PAs this season. Do ANY of the Hiura-posters really think that he would have "bolstered the first base position" in any meaningful way so that the same posters wouldn't be frustrated by the lack of first base production?

Who should they have signed/traded for? What would you have been willing to give up?

I was just looking at FanGraphs' Roster Resource and was surprised to find that both Tampa Bay and the Brewers have fewer (10) homegrown players on the 40-man than most of the league, including the big spenders. The Astros and Guardians have a whopping 22 homegrown players; the Dodgers have 18. Even the Yankees have 13. I suppose it's partially a reflection of teams being able to re-sign their homegrown guys.

I love Counsell and hope he stays forever. With that said, is it possible that this gnashing of teeth is just Derek Johnson all over again? We (myself included) like to think that he's been working with bad rosters for his entire term, but is this a fallacy? He's benefitted from having lights-out bullpens for the last 6 seasons. He's had 2 MVP caliber seasons from Yelich. He's had Cy Young+ with Burnes/Woodruff with good, quality depth in pitching. Perhaps Counsell is looking at a minor re-build the next couple of seasons and isn't looking forward to that kind of grind. Why not take a couple years in a cushy FO role, and take over again in 2026? Baseball is littered with great managers that take a couple years to do something different only to return later.

Yep. I missed this while on vacation, but you guys are the best!

Purely looking at stats, I suspect that Chourio has been taking feedback all season about how to improve his swing/approach, not to mention defense, baserunning, locker room presence, media familiarity, making adult decisions, English, etc. I have no doubt that he was hoping for/expecting a promotion, but I'd bet he's still swimming with plenty of ways to mature and improve before inevitably being promoted to MLB. I suspect the Brewers will strike the right balance between challenging the future face-of-the-franchise, as well as trying to give him a "soft" landing in the heart of the big-league order, not to mention planning for service time and roster implications of his move. With this said, if Monte Harrison is the guy keeping the AAA roster spot, I certainly hope the Brewers promote him this season, if for no other reason than to let him acclimate to living/working in Nashville. But there is no rush, unless the team feels that he needs to be on the playoff roster. Although if Mitchell returns, that probably won't happen.

I think this is really an underrated aspect to the organization right now. Of the top farm systems, the Brewers have several top prospects in AA/AAA, and that's without including Contreras, Ashby, Turang, Wiemer, Mitchell, Monasterio, Peguero, Perkins, and the other AAAA pitchers like Junk and McKendry. The doubley-nice thing is that when those top guys graduate, there are a number of players in the lower ranks ready to take their spots. The franchise is really, really setting itself up to not need to pay free agents to fill roster spots in the coming years, which is super important with the Yelich contract, and hopefully one or two other "premium" salary spots (e.g. Woodruff extension, LoCain-type signing). It would be a fun thread idea to predict the Brewers top-15 prospect list in say, June 2025.

Jackson ChourioJacob MisiorowskiJeferson QueroSal FrelickTyler BlackEric Brown JrBrock WilkenRobert GasserAbner UribeCarlos F RodriguezLuke AdamsMike BoeveLogan HendersonLuis LaraCooper PrattEdwin JimenezBradley BlalockYophery RodriguezJosh KnothEric Bitonti Wow, this is just a really fun farm to follow right now.

When you look at the minors stats for good MLB players, they rarely have any growing pains or hiccups with the bat (over the course of a full season). I'm thrilled with all of the hot starts. I've absolutely fallen in love with Wilken, even though I was dubious on draft day. His swing is sooooo quiet and smooth. I hadn't really considered this fact. It's incredible. Most strong farms are due to the two factors you mentioned. They're doing a lot right.

Those Statcast numbers are nuts. He must have really short fingers.

I think this is a fair observation toward my own views of Urias. But Urias is making $4.7M this season. Would someone really want to pay him nearly $5M next season? I mean, Brian Anderson is only making $3.5M. Additionally, I don't view Blalock as "... anything we can get." I think the Brewers see a guy who is destined to pitch in the big leagues sooner rather than later, and that he's got good upside. Anytime you can get a cheap guy that can contribute to the big league club in a trade for an expensive guy that can't, that's probably a good trade. (Edit to add: "Basically what LouisEly said.)

Gotta expect a number of promotions coming soon. If not today/tomorrow, Then maybe not until Tuesday?

In a word, no. I don't necessarily enjoy watching it. But I do enjoy that there is a strategy that lesser teams employ to combat being so outmatched. I like that soccer features David versus Goliath situations. I like the idea of these huge clubs going to play in some 5,000-seat stadium in the middle of nowhere, England, and have to decide whether or not to even play their best players, but risk bowing out of the tourney early. The fact that there are opportunities for huge upsets is fun for me. I prefer college football/basketball to NFL/NBA for the same reason. I like that fans for most soccer clubs seem to have their own definition of what a successful result is, or a successful season looks like, which doesn't have to end in victory or a championship. Historically, I like the limited substitutions as it puts a real emphasis on being able to run that much in 90 minutes. But there's no doubt that having more substitutions makes for a better viewing experience. As for the USWNT, it seems clear to me that Rapinoe and, perhaps to a lesser degree, Morgan, are washed up and shouldn't get much time from here on out. I haven't seen enough of Rodman, Smith, and Thompson to have an opinion on their quality, but if they aren't better than Rapinoe and Morgan, the US isn't going to advance that far in this tournament. I don't mind that Rapinoe and Morgan are on the roster, but they shouldn't be playing much more than as late-match substitutes.

Wow, when I logged on this morning, I really didn't think this was going to be the trade-thread with all the bickering! I like to think that I put posters "on ignore" in my mind. Once I've done that, it's easier to not take them so seriously. Heck, Jeffrey Leonard probably has a healthier relationship to baseball than I do, as it clearly is only something that brings him some casual entertainment, including being able to post his opinions here. I, on the other hand, am an obsessive; I'm probably close to the fringes of unhealthy, LOL. If Jeffrey doesn't mind mortgaging the future of the franchise because they won't miss winning baseball when it's gone, well, that's the kind of fan they are, which is fine. Who among us don't enjoy the idea of the "big score," putting all one's betting budget on the longshot to win?

Very happy with this trade. Urias has been getting squeezed for playing time, and his limitations are kind of irritating limitations (e.g. speed, baserunning, contact, arm, inability to play SS). You trade 2.5 years of control of a UTL for 6 years of a guy with backend bullpen upside. I had higher expectations for Urias coming into the season. I was on record not believing that there was much difference between him and other options, but I really liked what Anderson brought to the team with his skillset and ability to play really, really good defense at two positions (it's really nice from a roster-perspective to have a guy that can play IF AND OF). I hope they re-sign Anderson for next season, allowing Black to get some more reps at 3rd next season in the minors as well as better gauge the timetables for Adams, Wilken and Boeve.

I'm guessing that was part of the motivation. Probably explained the Caratini rumors as well. Brewers just happened to have a logjam of catchers at the top of the organization. I'm thrilled with the McKendry and Blalock pickups.

Blalock and Jimenez... let's keep the pitching pipeline going!! Also, I can't seem to find the bonus info on Alastre. That little highlight reel was impressive.

Offsides is the most fundamental part of soccer, IMO. Without it, the game would be completely different. I like that the defense can strategically condense the playing field with the rule (playing a high line), thus forcing offenses to adapt. The lack of timeouts/commercials is fantastic. Relegation leagues are awesome. I like that regular season greatness is held in a higher regard than tournament-style championships (although the Champion's League is probably challenging that assertion). I like that when there is a dead-ball event, the game can sometimes just start up again without all of the exactness of American sports. Same thing with 90 minutes. You just keep playing until the ref says the game is over. It's like the game just isn't taken so seriously... With this said, VAR (video assisted referee) has been horrible to this effect. Who cares if the player was an inch offside, let them play! I don't love penalty kicks, as they seem to disproportionately penalize the offending team for certain fouls in the box. But I also don't always love the way free throws in basketball, either. Flopping doesn't bother me at all in either basketball or soccer, but only because it's the only way to get refs to call the foul. If basketball players didn't flop, there would never be an offensive foul called, and if the most talented players in soccer didn't go down easy every now and then, they'd just keep getting kicked over and over without the ref calling the foul. In many ways, I like soccer because it hasn't been so Americanized. It just feels different.

I'm new to the thread, but am curious about others' curiosity/fandom of soccer. As a kid from rural Wisconsin, with so little opportunity to experience soccer, I tended to ridicule it. But then I started playing soccer video games with my college buddies and became curious, particularly about the World Cup... How can billions of fans be so wrong? Anyway, after many years, I now love the sport.

Before reading your analysis, I would rather have Canha (and actually think he fits the Brewers' "philosophy" really well). The extra years of control for Rooker, though, are intriguing. Although, I'd probably just prefer they use Hiura instead of Rooker.

In 2003 a Venezuelan phenom was brought up late in the season and helped the Marlins win a World Series... just sayin'.

The Card's commentator at the 1:20 mark really goes off after the ejections in the most out-of-touch, sanctimonious Cardinal-way possible. He just couldn't believe it. It's just gross. Your comment about it being the organization is completely correct. Presumably these announcers are hired by the Cardinals. This is clearly the messaging that the organization feels plays well with Cardinal fans. I feel like Rock would just say something like, "...well, Mikolas knows the rules. When you go inside like that, you're putting yourself at risk of being ejected."

Jimenez is always hurt. This has gone all the way back to when he was a prospect. I just can't get behind giving them anything of value for him.

This was exactly my thoughts as well. They want him to play a little first just in the event that they need someone to play first after the deadline. The other possibility is that they are planning to promote him to AAA anyway, and they've decided that he just won't stick at 3rd, and they are planning on him being a full-time first baseman whenever he gets to the big leagues. But I doubt that based on our intrepid minor league observers' opinions of his defense at 3rd.